Thermostatic controller for gas water-heaters.



Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

H. JARVIS. THERMOSTATIC CONTROLLER FOR GAS WATER HEATERS.

APPLICATION FILED OWL-5,191.5.

, To all whom it may concern:

U ITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD JARVIS OF TORONTO, 'ONTABIQCANADA.

rfinnuosrarrccdnrnomnn ron; en's WATEBPHEATEBS.

Be it known that I, HAROLD resident of the city of Toronto, county of York, Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thermostatic Controllers for Gas Water-Heaters, as. described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,'tliat form part of the same.

The principal objects of theinvention are, to effect a positive automatic control of the flow of gas to the burner of a gas water heater, thereby insuring the water contained within the storage tank being maintained at a uniform temperature. I

A further object is to devise a form of thermostat control apparatus which is not subjected to constant fluctuation but cuts oil the supply of gas sharply when the temperature rises to a predetermined point and also opens quickly, thereby obviating the dangerous conditions of back firing in the burner.

- A still further object is to devise a control apparatus of simple and durable form which is not delicate in its parts and operation and therefore not liable to get out of order.

' The principal feature of the inventionconsists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby the gas control valve is carried upon a lever operatively controlled by a thermostat bar, said lever having a' break joint intermediate of its length and carrying an armature adapted to be aflected by a permanent magnet for the closing of the valve.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my thermostat control apparatus showing the inclosing casing in section. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal view in-section. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the rangement of the thermostat heater and water reservoir.

Like numerals of reference indicate corre- 'sponding parts in each fi re.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the base of the thermostat casing formed with a hol low boss 2 arran ed adjacent to one end and central of its wi th, the boss being connected by the pipe 3 to the water circulation pipe 4, the pipe 3 extending vdownwardly and being connected to the lower water circulation pipe 5 to 'therese'rvoir 6.

is a laterally arranged passage formed on the underside of the base 1 intermediate JARVIS, a: citizen of the United States of Amerifca,-and.

' portion of the boss Specification)! Letters Patent. 'Patented F eb, 22,1916, Application filed October 5, 1915. ;Seria1 life. 54,266; Y

the gas. pipe 10 which leads to the burner of y the heater 11. I Y '12 is a cap extending over the base 1 havlng a flange 13 extending outwardly and se- "cured by screws 14 to the base 1. .The gas passage 7 is connected through the pipe 15 to a suitable gas supply and the gas flows into the hollow chamber 16 formed between the cap 12 and base 1 and finds egress through the gas pipe 10.

17 is a valve seat arranged in the opening to the, gaspipe 10. r

18 'are a pair of upstanding lugs arranged on the base 1 adjacent to the end of the device containing the thermostat and spaced each side of the longitudinal center.

-19- is a lever pivotally supported upon a pin extending through the lugs 18 and having the end 20 extending to the rear of the pivot and engaging a compression spring 21 which is adapted to exert an upward pressure against the end 20 to cause a consequent downward movement of the other end of the lever. U

22 is a' copper tube fixedly secured in the base 1 centrally of the boss 2 and extending downwardly within the pipe 3 having the lower end 23- thereof closed.

24 is a carbon stick arranged within the copper tube 22 and resting upon the closed bottom thereof, the upper end having a' metallic cap 25 extending above the inner 2. threaded in the lever 19 y 26 is a set, screw a short distance in front of the pivot and.

arranged directly over the'center of the carbon stick 24, the lower-end engaging the top Y of the metal cap, said screw being secured" in an adjusted position by means of the lock nut 27. The forward end 28 of the lever 19 is formed jaw-shaped and pivotally supported between saidjaws isa bar 30, one end of which extends over the top of the lever 19 and the other end extends forwardlybeyond the pivot. v

31 is a bolt adjustabl secured in the rear end of the bar '30 an extending through thehole 32 in the lever 19.

33 is a s iral sprin end to the olt 31 an screw or other fastening member 34 secured in the base, said fastening member being secured at its upper at its lower end to a arranged in the bottom of a recess 35 in said base which allows sufficient room for the proper operation of said spring.

36 is a horseshoe magnet rigidly secured .to 5 the base 1 having the open ends arranged to extend each side of the gas outlet 10.

37 is a steel armature secured to the forward end of the bar 30 and adapted to en gage the forward ends of the magnet upon the depression of the arm.

38 is a closed spring secured to the underside of the armature 37 and supporting a hemispherical valve 39 which is adapted to close down upon the valve seat 17 and to shut oil the outward flow of gas.

In the operation of this device, the tona perature of the water in the circulation pipes 4 and 5 acts directly upon the thermostat tube 22 and when the temperature of the water is low the said tube contracts and liftin 'upon the carbon stick contained therein, said stick presses upwardly against the set screw 26 and consequently tilts the lever 19 upon its pivot against the action of the spring 21. This lifts the bar 30 and.

consequently the valve 39 thus opening the flow of gas to the heater. In the opening of the valve the magnetic pull of the electromagnet upon the armature 37 holds the 30 said armature so that the lever 19 moves a certain distance without disturbing or disconnecting the armature from the magnet. The bar 30 however swings upon its pivot in the jaw-shaped end of the lever and con sequently the inner end of the said bar pulls away from the lever 19 against the tension of the sprin 33. When the tension of the spring 33 is increased by the upward move-- ment of the lever 19 to such an extent as to 40 overcome the magnetic pull upon the armature, the said armature is immediately released and the spring 33 pulls the lever 30 downwardly with a quick snap, thus making the opening of the valve instantaneous.

This allows the flow of gas to the burner of the water heater. As the water becomes heated the thermostat tube 22 gradually lengthens and allows the carbon stick to drop. The compression spring 21 pushing 5o upwardly on the rear end of the lever 19 holds the screw 26 in contact with the upper end thereof and the spring 33 also pulling downwardly causes the valve 39 to move downwardly to close as the temperature of the waterincreases until the armature carrying the valve moves within the influence of the pull of the magnet, when the armature is attracted and closes the valve with a snap.

It will thus be seen that with this construction of device a very quick opening and closing of the supply of gas to the heater is ohta'ined and the valve 39 being carried on a flexible support will always seat itself. Another and important feature in this invention is that the valve opens against the dangerous.

The device herein described is very simple of construction and may be manufactured very cheaply. It is also positive in its action-and is not of a delicate nature and cannot readily get out of order.

It will be particularly noted that the thermostat operating device is shown and de scribed as arranged in circulation pipes outside of the reservoir. This feature is important in that the small body of water passing through the circulating pipes is more .readily susceptible to external atmospheric conditions and as the temperature of the water within the reservoir becomes lower the temperature within the circulating pipes will drop quicker and consequently start the automatic thermostat into operation before the temperature of the water in the reservoirgets to the lowest desired point, thus allowing suflicient time for the natural lag in the action of the snap opening and closing valve to operate.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a thermostatic controller for gas water heaters the combination with a gas supply and a heater. of a alve adapted to close the gas passage to the heater, a fixed magnet armature connected to said valve. a magnet adapted to attract said armature to hold the valve closed, a thermostat adapted to control. the opening and closing of the valve, and a spring tension means interposed between the thermostat and the valve to effect the quick opening and closing of the valve.

2. In a thermostatic controller for gas water heaters, the combination with a gas supply and a heater, of a valve adapted to close the gas passage to the heater. a pivotal arm supporting said valve and having a break joint intermediate of its length. a fixedmagnet, an armature carried on said arm adapted to cooperate with said magnet. a tension spring holding said break joint, and a thermostat adapted to operate said arm to open and close the valve.

3. In a thermostatic controller for gas water heaters, the combination with a gas supply and a heater, of a valve adapted to close the gas passage to the heater. a lever pivotally supported adjacent to one end, a thermostat controlled by the heater and engaging said lever to swing it upon its pivot an arm. pivotally mounted on said lever and having one end spring held in contact with said lever, a valve mounted on the outer end of said pivotal arm adapted to close the gas passage to the heater, a magnet armature secured to the outer end of said pivotal arm, and a fixed magnet arranged to coact with said armature to attract the same to close the valve.

4. In a thermostatic controller for gas water heaters, the combination with a gas supply and a heater, of a valve chamber 1nterposed in the gas supply, a valve seat arranged at the outlet from said valve chamber, a leverpivotally mounted within said valve chamber, an arm mounted intermediate of its length at one end of said lever, avalve at the outer end of said arm adapted to engage said valve seat to prevent the outflow of gas to the heater, a thermostat adapted to engage said lever between the pivot and the outer end supporting the valve arm and adapted to raise and lower said arm to open and close the gas passage, a magnet arranged adjacent to the outer end of the valve supporting arm, an armature carried on said arm adapted to cooperate with said magnet to hold the valve in its closed position, and a tension spring secured in the valve chamber and adjustably connected to the end of the valve arm at the end opposite to the end carrying the valve.

5. In 'a thermostatic controller for gas water heaters, the combination with a gas supply and a heater, of a valve chamber 1nterposed in the gas supply, a valve seat arranged at the outlet from said valve chamher, a lever pivotally mounted within said valve chamber, an arm mounted intermediate of its length on one end of said lever, a valve at the outer end of said arm adapted to engage said valve seat to prevent the outflow of gas to the heater, a carbon stick thermostat supported from said valve chamber and extending therewithin and engaging the valve operating'lever between the pivot and the valve, a spiral compression spring engaging an extension fromthe lever and hold-' ing said lever in constant engagement with said thermostat, an adjustable contact means between said lever and said thermostat, a.

magnet armature carried by the valve supporting arm on its outer end, a. magnet I 7 adapted to coact with said armature to hold the valve to its seat, anda tension spring stat, a magnet armature carried by said spring tension means supporting said valve, and a magnet adapted to coact with said armature to effect a snap closing andopening of the valve.

HAROLD JARVIS. 1 

